Cut down the peach
Cut down the peach was the first mission in Ōkami, taking place in the River of the Heavens area. After the initial introduction it will become apparent that a great curse by the eight-headed dragon Orochi has affected all of Nippon. Only the wood sprite Sakuya managed to save the spirits of Kamiki Village by encasing them in a giant peach, and has requested for Amaterasu to cut it down and restore the village. Walkthrough Rejuvenation Begin by entering the portal at the base of the Konohana tree to enter the spiritual River of the Heavens area. Issun, your flea-sized guide, will explain various mechanics to you such as the controls and saving at the Origin Mirror. Cross the bridge past the Mirror to prompt a tip to smash the various pots, and any other objects you can find, to obtain goods. Do so here to collect some Yen, then continue until you reach a dead end and another prompt to jump, and then wall jump to reach the top of the plateau. Issun will congratulate you and remind you to often check for high areas in case of collectibles. Once on-top you can open the nearby treasure chest to obtain an Holy Bone S, as well as destroy the nearby wooden horse and the pots for more Yen. The Holy Bone S is an item that restores three units of Solar energy, your hit points. Approach the broken bridge to prompt another cutscene where Issun shows you his mastery of the Rejuvenation, one of the Celestial Brush techniques, and teaches you about the thirteen Celestial Brush gods. Continue onwards to prompt another cutscene where Issun will wonder about the missing River of the Heavens, note that he will often approach and hop nearby objects you can examine or interact with, such as the large stone next to the river. Take the side path and go through the torii (the Japanese shrine gate) and head uphill to prompt another cutscene where Issun tries to draw a missing star in a constellation. He fails, and then allows you to try, which requires you to simply put down a dot at the same spot he tried. Once done you will summon Yomigami who grants you the same Rejuvenation technique as Issun used, which you must then use to restore the River of the Heavens. Return to the puddle and bring up the brush, then fill in the missing path. Cross the water and open the chest at the end to obtain an Astral Pouch, an item that will hold any food you find, and revive you from death if you are carrying a full pouch. Any surplus food is automatically turned into Yen. Smash the nearby pots to obtain the foodstuffs inside, then head into the nearby portal. Power Slash At this point simply follow the linear route, smashing any objects you can find, until you reach a cave entrance, which you must enter. Note that running for prolonged periods of time will cause you to eventually sprint and cover distances much faster. Once inside the Cave of Nagi you must use your new Rejuvenation brushstroke to restore the broken sword that the statue is holding. Another constellation will appear, which once restored reveals Tachigami, who will grant you the Power Slash technique. Issun will ask you to proof your skill and use the new technique to slash a boulder in half, which you can easily do by drawing a single horizontal line through the rock. Once done, use Power Slash to cut down groups of objects faster than smashing into them, but keep in mind that you are limited by your ink pots, and that if all are gone you are temporarily powerless until they are restored. Cut down the gate blocking your exit from the cave and return to the River of the Heavens. Partway through you will be attacked by green imps, which are easily defeated with your normal attack using the Divine Retribution reflector on your back, or the Power Slash brushstroke. A defeated enemy often drops an ink bottle that allows you to use more brushstrokes mid-combat, or Spirit Globes (in the S, M, or L variants) which restore solar energy, and all of them drop Yen as well. You will gain more Yen once the fight is over based on damage taken and time spent. Another pair of imps will attack you, but they are of no concern either. Keep moving until you return to Kamiki Village where you can finally use the Power Slash technique to cut down the peach and restore the village. Once completed this signifies the end of the mission, after which Issun will tell you to go see how the villagers are doing now that monsters are running amok, leading into the mission "Destroy the boulder!". Category:Missions in Ōkami